Has your board ever struggled with changing meeting dates, last-minute agenda changes, outdated versions of documents or sifting through countless emails? These challenges can make it difficult for boards to communicate effectively and make informed decisions.
The good news is that a digital board meeting portal can help. With the right board management software, your board and committee meetings can be more efficient, collaborative and productive.
In this post, we’ll explain what a digital board meeting portal is, who uses it and the benefits for boards. We’ll also guide you on implementation tips and share best practices for secure and effective digital meetings.
What is a digital board meeting portal?
Digital board meeting portals are becoming increasingly common as boards of directors seek more efficient ways to prepare for meetings and communications.
A digital board meeting portal is a secure digital platform that centralizes board communication and activity. It allows executives and board members to schedule meetings, share board materials and communicate securely and efficiently in and outside the boardroom.
Who are the primary users of a digital board meeting portal?
Corporate secretaries and board administrators
Corporate secretaries and board administrators are one of the main users of board portal software as they play a vital role in managing board operations and communications. They use the software to schedule meetings, set up agendas and securely distribute board books with additional board management tools to simplify their tasks like taking meeting minutes and board reporting.
Board of directors and committee members
Board members use digital board meeting portals to review board materials, prepare for board meetings, understand board governance, engage with other board members and make decisions. They also use the software to access board materials from anywhere, vote online, and annotate board documents.
Benefits of using a digital board meeting portal
Using a digital board meeting portal offers many advantages for organizations looking to improve their board meeting efficiency and productivity. Board using the software remark how its makes their work easier, keeps them organized and engaged in their board responsibilities.
Digital board meeting portals improve board efficiency and productivity by centralizing document management, enhancing security, supporting communication and providing convenient access. Boards using this software find it saves time on board meeting management and preparation.
Efficient communication
By providing a centralized platform where board members can easily share documents, exchange ideas, and work together in real time, a digital board meeting portal significantly enhances board communication. Features like document sharing, annotations, and chat ensure that everyone is on the same page, creating a more collaborative and engaged working environment.
“New directors who haven’t seen Aprio before are immediately impressed with how quickly they can get up to speed. Aprio keeps them looped in, easily, all year round, and they offer helpful support that’s flexible, no matter how tech-savvy a director is.” – Your Neighbourhood Credit Union
Better decision-making
By providing easily accessible data, board portal solutions help board members make more informed and timely decisions, ultimately leading to more effective governance and strategic planning. Document version control and secure updates keep everyone informed with access to the most up-to-date information. Features like voting and polling streamline the decision-making process both in and out of the boardroom.
Productive board meetings
Digital board meeting portals also help ensure board meetings are more productive. By centralizing all necessary materials and communications, board members can easily access and review documents ahead of time, ensuring they come to meetings prepared. The ability to annotate documents, participate in discussions, and vote on matters directly within the portal eliminates the need for lengthy email threads and multiple document versions. This not only saves time but also keeps meetings focused and on track, leading to more effective and productive sessions.
Best practices for secure and effective digital meetings
How can you ensure your digital meetings are both productive and secure? Here are some best practices to consider.
Use strong authentication
Ensure that only authorized participants can access your meetings using multi-factor authentication. This adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity.
Control access
Restrict access to your meetings by using unique meeting IDs and passwords. This prevents unauthorized individuals from joining and ensures that only invited participants can attend.
Enable encryption
Keep the content of your meetings secure and protected from unauthorized access with a digital meeting platform that offers end-to-end encryption. For example, Aprio offers AES 256-bit encryption in transit and at rest as well as SHA-256 cryptographic hash functions to protect passwords.
Record with caution
If you need to record the meeting, inform all participants beforehand and ensure that the recordings are stored securely. Only authorized individuals should have access to these recordings.
Set clear agendas ahead of time
Distribute a clear and detailed agenda, ideally with time allocations for each topic, before the meeting. This helps participants prepare in advance and use meeting time for more productive discussion.
See related: How to maintain efficient virtual board meetings
How to implement a digital board meeting portal for your organization
A successful implementation starts with choosing the right board portal vendor. Look for a trusted partner to help guide you every step of the way to achieve a smooth and successful onboarding and board portal setup.
Here are some additional tips to consider for board meeting portal implementation:
- Assess your needs: Identify the features and capabilities your board needs. Engage stakeholders including board members and IT, to ensure everyone is on board and ready for the change.
- Choose the right platform: Find the best solution that fits your needs, budget and expectations in a software partner. To help guide your decision, see the 10 things to compare for board portal software.
- Plan the rollout: Work closely with your chosen vendor for setup and training. Buyer beware: not all board management solutions provide guided support in board portal setup.
- Provide training: Take advantage of the training options provided to make sure everyone is comfortable with the new system. We recommend one-on-one training sessions to best support board members, including non-tech savvy ones. As your board uses the software, continue to access support for any issues or questions.
- Monitor and adjust: Keep an eye on how the board is using the software. Routinely ask for feedback to make necessary adjustments or suggest improvements.
“The personal touch of the Aprio team makes a real difference. They actively seek my feedback, and my suggestions are reflected in the enhancement of the product. It’s technology that works the way boards work.” – Claudia Ferris, Board Secretary for St. George’s School & Governance Consultant at Governance Matters Consulting Inc.
Make your meetings more secure and productive with Aprio
Considering a board portal to have a more productive board? Make sure to include Aprio in your comparison.
Aprio stands out for our easy to use board software, advanced data security and unmatched expert support that’s available 24/7. See how we make our customers’ days easier! Read some of our customer reviews.
We’d love to learn more about your business and how we can help support your goals. Get in touch with our sales team to get started.
